PARAMUS, N.J. – The second credit union whose history is being featured as part of a “Legacy Series” advertising campaign in this state is now telling its story.
Greater Alliance FCU here is being highlighted by the New Jersey Credit Union League’s “Legacy Series” campaign, which seeks to demonstrate the credit union difference through the telling of credit unions’ founding stories.
In the case of Greater Alliance, it was founded in 1937 by five dedicated educators in Hackensack High School, established primarily for the purpose of serving teachers and their immediate families.
“One can only presume that at least one of the founders was a math or home economics teacher,” the league noted. “From those humble beginnings sprang a tradition of more than 75 years of commitment to members, community, and service. As it grew, membership was expanded to include a diverse mix of communities, employee groups, and associations in Bergen and Passaic Counties. Eventually the name was changed to reflect the broader membership, becoming Greater Alliance Federal Credit Union. But despite its growth and expansion, one thing never changed—GAFCU has stayed true to its family focused roots.”
The new campaign says the credit union itself is like a family with 43% of employees having been with the credit union for 10 years or more, and more than two-thirds have been there for at least five years or more. Moreover, GAFCU has had only three CEOs since the 1930’s, including its current CEO, Glenn Guinto, who has “deep roots” in the Greater Alliance family, having begun his career there as a part-time teller, the league said. His assistant, Antonietta “Tony” Tartaglione, has worked at the credit union for over 30 years, starting when she was in high school in 1978, when there were only two other employees other than herself.
“Our employee tenure is what makes us an institution in the truest sense of the word,” says Guinto as part of the campaign. “Our members have been with us for many generations and we can attribute our tenure as one of the main reasons that we’ve developed their trust in us.”